Offshore Wind Turbine Project Stalls in Oregon Due to Excessive Costs

An ambitious plan to install floating offshore wind turbines near Coos Bay, Oregon has stalled, although the company trying to do it has not formally withdrawn their proposal.

NW Cable News reports the federal Bureau of Ocean Management is no longer processing the plan, which was put forth by the Principle Power Company. In 2013, they applied to install enough floating wind turbines to supply 30 megawatts of power. That's roughly enough to power anywhere from 500 to 750 homes a year. That figure is based upon a wide variety of sources, and takes into account homes that are using more electricity than others. It would also depend upon where the power was sold, demand, load, etc.

The turbines would have been anchored to the ocean floor at a depth of about 1,400 feet, and would have been far enough offshore to be in what's known as 'federal' U.S. waters, 15 miles offshore.

The figures vary widely as to how many homes the project would have powered. But while the company has not formally pulled it's permit application, the federal agency has stopped processing it.

Last year, the Oregon Utilities Commission back away from interest in the project, citing the high price of the electricity coming from the turbines. That left Principle Power with nowhere to see it's electricity. No mention was made if any environmental issues were also why the agency stopped processing the application.

Some energy experts say the project is all but dead now. Similar projects have built in other parts of the world, including the one pictured in this story, about 4.5 miles off the coast of England near Liverpool.